Excavator car



June 28, 1932. H. w. PRoTzEl- LER EXCAVATOR CAR Filed March 7. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l RMN w L E ww June 28, i932.

H. W. PROTZELLER EXCAVATOR `GAR Filed March 7.' 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 l .Ilfll June 28, 1932.

H. w. PRoTzELLER EXCAVATOR CAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 7. 1929 Patented June 28, 1932 UNIT-ED STAT-ES PATENT oFFICe-E naam! w. rinor:animeriq on nasa? CHICAGO, rumana, assIGNonmo o. F. manen COMPANY?, 03? "ilfST CHCAGQ lNDIAN-f +5 CGPQIMENQF :INDI''NA' EXGAVATQB een Application filed March 7,

This invention relates to improvements in excavator cars and it consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Railway maintenance work often requires the kdigging up of ballast and road bed material along the track at .different distances laterally from the track within certain limits. Such work sometimes calls for trenching of dierent depths along the track for drainage purpose and sometimes it is desired to remove, clean and replace ballast to keep the road bed in a good condition.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a car or vehicle movable upon a railroad track whereby such operations may be advantageously carried on economically and fasterthan it is now possible with hand labor.

Another object of th-e invention is to provide a car or vehicle including an excavating or digging mechanism, which is normally carried in transport at one side of the car so as not to interfere with traiic conditions and which may be easily set and held in position forY operation at diierentdistances from the track upon which the car is travelling.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and eilicient supporting means for the excavating element, which may be readily actuated to properly locate and hold the excavating element in the desired operative position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide automaticy means which will insure the `-perpendicularity of the excavating element as whenthe caris making a curve, irrespective of the fact of Whether the element is operating upon the Ahigh or low side of the track. .y y v These objects .of the invention as well as others, together with the many advantages thereof will more fully appear as I proceed with .-@Qietwi In :the diaries@ Fis l iS e -Yiv ,in eidslelsvation ef .ex- @avelier Cef' embodying 911e tor-m of my in.- Veetien.

2 isa .rep plan view thereof with the 132e. 4serial NQ. 345,156.

roof Aor canopy removed to better illustrate tlie'several vparts.V

"Fig, 3 vis a transverse vertical sectional view Athrough the car on an enlargedscale astaken onthe line 3-8 of Fig. 2.

Figl is a vertical detail sectional view, on a further enlarged scale as taken on the line 4 4 of Fig.v 3.

Fig'. 5 is a vertical sectional view through a part of the car as taken`on the Aline of F ig. 3. Fig. 6 is a horizontal ldetail vertical Sec.- tional view as taken on .the line 6 6 of Fig.' 3. In general my improved constructionemf bodies a vehicle yon the order of-arailroad car of that type commonly termed a fflat car. At oneside Ythereof is provided adigging or excavating mechanism so mounted upon isupporting 'members on kthe car that said mechanism may' be positioned at differ,- ent distances laterally from the car and may be adjusted to excavate to the desired depth. When the car is to be transported from yone place of use to another, the excavating mechanism maybe swung upwardly out of opera.- tive excavating position and may `then' be swung inwardly toward ,the car so .as `to-be. out .of the way, thus providing the necessary clearance space for passing trains. hen the car is in opera-tion upon a curve, it `is evif dent Athat one side of the car will be higher than the other at which time certain means operates automatically to maintain the circa.- vat-ing mechanism iiiV a perpendicular. position, no matter whether said mechanism 'happens to be on` the inside or voutside of the curve. Thus. in trenching operations, it is apparent that `.the ktrench Y[being made and especially when the same is a'relatively deep oneywillhave side .walls of such'perpendic'su-y larity as to `prevent caving in of either side wall .due Yto overhang. A 1" Referring now indetail tol that embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawings; l indicates as a whole a vehiclein the formof a railroad carsimilar to a flat car and which car is adaptedlfor travel upon the rails ofia railroad Y:track Said car includes the usual under framing 3 and deck .4, inounted on front and" rear wheeled trucks 5 5, the term front and rear merely being used relatively and for convenience and in accordance with the direction in which the car moves upon the track when in actual use.

At one side of the car between its ends, the underframing and decking are so formed as to provide a substantially long but rather shallow recess or cut-in side 6. Disposed along opposite sides of the car in the desired longitudinally'spaced relation, are upright posts or standards 7 and 8 respectively, upon which a suitable roof or canopy 4a is supported th-e desired distance above the deck 4.

On the median line of the car at a suitable distance from the front end thereof, are located front and rear upright masts 9 and 10 respectively, each of which includes a substantially horizontally disposed boom l1. As each mast and boom are substantially alike, a detailed description of one will suffice for bOtll; v

Each mast is made up of an I beam 12 and secured to each flange thereof is a substantially kite shaped gusset plate 13. The bot-v tom ends of said beam and gusset plates are fixed to a foot plate 14 including a hemispherical bearing member 15 which seats in a correspondingly shaped socket 16 in a bearing plate 17. This bearing plate rests upon the deck 4 on the median line of thek car and is secured to said deck and to the center sills of theV framing 3. On the top end of the mast is secured a cap 18 with an axially disposed upright stud 19 that bears in a recess 20 formed in a Worm gear segment 21 of substantially large radius and .which extends transversely of the car.

The Worm gear segmentl has lateral guideshoulders 22-22 that engage with similar guide shoulders 23-23 on the inner surfaces of a transversely extending housing 24. Said housing is dependingly supported from side and intermediate stringers 25 and 26 respectively, forminga part of the support-ing structure for the roof or canopy 4a. Both housings 24-24 are connected together by angle bars 24a as best shown in Fig. 4.

In each housing 24 there is journalled at its ends a horizontally disposed shaft 27 having a worm 28 between its ends which meshes with the worm gear segment 21. On one end of each shaft, beyond the associated end of the housing24, is secured a worm gear 29, and both gears 29 mesh with Worms 30--30 fixed on a longitudinally extending horizontally disposed shaft 31 that is journalled at its ends in the associated ends of the housings 24--24 as best shown in Fig. 5. This shaft is operatively driven from a reversible electric motor 32 supported from one of the posts 8 at that side of the car opposite the cut-in or recessed side thereof. v

. Each boom 11 comprises a pair of channel bars 33 secured to the gusset plates 13 so as pair of channels 38-38'. Thus the brackets 37 and the channels 38 constitutean elongated rectangular' excavating mechanism supporting frame that is pivotally connected to each boom to provide, in connection with the upright posts or masts, a parallelogram arrangement. When the masts are swung about their end bearings, the excavating mechanism supporting` frame may be swung from a position wherein it is disposed above the cut-in side of the car to one spaced laterally therefrom as best shown in dotted and full lines in Fig. 2.

To the forward end of said excavating element frame is pivotally mounted one end of an excavating or digging mechanism indicated as a whole by the numeral 39in Fig. 1. This excavating or digging mechanism which is of the chain and bucket type comprises a frame 40 pivoted at one end to a short horizontally disposed shaft 4l journalled in downwardly and forwardly extending brackets 42 on the front end of said frame. At the other end of said frame is journalled a shaft 43 and on said shafts 41 and 43 are sprockets 44 only one of which is shown in Fig. 1. Trained about said sprockets 44 are chains 45 carrying buckets 46, those portions of the chains .between the sprockets 44 engaging rollers 47 on said frame. Ou that end of the shaft 41 outwardly beyond the frame 40 is secured a sprocket 48 driven by a chain 49 from a suitable speed reduction set 50 carried by the outer channel 38. This set 50 is in turn driven by an electric motor 51 also mounted on said last mentioned channel 38.

As is apparent from Fig. 1, when the motor 51 is running, the sprocket 48 is driven counter clock-wise and the buckets 467Will workragainst the breast 52 of a trench tore` move material therefrom. This excavated material is discharged from the buckets as they approach the sprocket 48 into the usualV belt conveyors which have been omitted for the sake of clearness, such conveyors being Vof any well-known kind.

Means is provided for raising and lowering the excavating mechanism out of and into operative position and such means is as follows: On the rear end of the frame provided by the channels 384-38 is mounted a reversible electric motor 53 which drives a transverse shaft 54, journalled in suitable bearings on and near the rear ends of said channels, through suitable speed reducing reached, the contacts 76--76a are separated and the motor 32 stops.

From the above it is apparent that the mechanism just described compensates for the inclination of the car to the horizontal to always maintain the masts in perpendicular position and the excavating mechanism in its proper position with respect thereto. This feature is important because the sides of the trench or ditch being dug are always maintained at that perpendicularity resistingv caving in even when the car is working upon a curve.

In the rocking movement of the masts to retain their perpendicularity, it is apparent that the long arm 33a of each boom forms quite a load and which load would be imlposedlon the motor when the mast is rocked carried out, I provide under the 'deck at the forward end of a car, a motor driven winch upon which is wound one end of a cable` 86, the other end of which is anchored to the track* at a suitable distance in advance of the f car. When it is desired to move the car for*V ward,-the winch is operated to wind up that amount of cable necessary to move the car along to vmaintain the excavating mechanism up against the trench breast 52. Y

The construction above described has many advantages. By means thereof, the supporting masts for the excavating mechanism may be actuated to locate said mechanism in any one of a number of positions laterally from 'ethe car and in which position said mechanisml is held and operated for its intended purpose. The construction described may be used for many purposes such as removing ballast for cleaning the same or for forming drainage ditches of various depths for either ballast or sub-grade drainage.

The excavating mechanism may be quickly swung into and out of operative position to allow passage of trains on adjacent tracks and when said mechanism is swung in toward the car for transport purpose, that amount of clearance recognized' as standard between passing cars on adjacent tracks is'maintained.

Another feature existsv in theV fact that'the excavating mechanism may be always maintained to operate in a perpendicular plane irrespective of the angular inclination ofthe car as when passing about a curve. Y

While in describing the invention, I have referred inldetail to the form, arrangement and construction of the several parts thereof the same is to be considered as merely illustrative thereof so that I do not wishr to be limited thereto except as may be pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: f

l. In combination with a vehicle, excavating mechanism at one side thereof, supporting means on said vehiclecapable of a lateral horizontal swinging movement toward and' supporting members mounted for a horizontalswln ging movement about spaced axes where by one end of said members may be moved into diiferent positions laterally with respecttov the side of the vehicle, a frame pivotably car ricd by said ends of said members and exca vating mechanism pivotally connected to said frame for a raising and lowering movement. In combinationy with a vehicle, means providing parallel booms pivoted adjacent one end with respect tothe vehicle whereby the other end of said booms may be swung into different positions laterally of the vehicle, a frame member pivotally carriedby said last mentioned end of said booms to provide a parallelogram arrangement and excavating mechanism carried by said frame.

4. In combination with a vehicle, means providing parallel booms pivoted adjacent one end with respect to the vehicle whereby the other endof said boomsmay be swung into different lpositions laterally of the vehicle, a frame member carried by said last mentionedend of said booms, and excavating mechanismcarried by said frame member and capable of a vertical adjustment with respect thereto. Y

5. In combination with 'a vehicle, means.

6.V In combination with a. vehicle, a substanti ally vertical mast, means providing top and bottom bearings on said vehicle for said mastl about which it may be turned the top bearing memberbeing laterally movable about the no bottom one as an axis, a boom ixed'to said mast and an excavating mechanism positioned adjacent one end of the boom and movable toward and away from the vehicle in the turning movement of the mast.

7. In combination withavehicle, an excavating mechanism, a supporting frame therefor disposed longitudinally of the vehicle, and means connecting said frame and vehicle for a horizontal swinging parallelogram movement away from and toward the vehicle to locate said frame and mechanism in any one of a number of dilferent operative positions spaced laterally from the vehicle.

8. In combination with a vehicle, an excavating mechanism, a supporting frame therefor normally disposed longitudinally along and within the plane of one side of the vehicle, means connecting said vehicle and frame for a horizontal swinging parallelogram movement of the latter outwardly away from the vehicle to position said excavating mechanism with respect to the vehicle and means carried by said frame for driving the excavating mechanism.

9.` In combination with a vehicle, an excavating mechanism, a supporting frame therefor disposed longitudinally of the vehicle, means connecting said frame and vehicle for a horizontal swinging parallelogram movement away from and toward the vehicle to locate said frame and mechanism in any one of a number of different operative positions spaced laterally from the vehicle and means operative from the vehicle for holding the frame against undesired horizontal swinging movement after said mechanism has been located in an operative position.

10. In combination with a vehicle, an excavating mechanism, a supporting frame therefor disposed longitudinally of the vehicle, means connecting said frame and vehicle for a horizontal swinging parallelogram movement away from and toward the vehicle to locate said frame and mechanism in any one of a number of different operative positions spaced laterally from the vehicle and means for raising and lowering said mechanism with respect to said frame, out of and into excavating position.

1l. In combination with a vehicle, an excavating mechanism, a supporting frame therefor disposed longitudinally of the vehicle, means connecting said frame and vehicle for a horizontal swinging parallelogram movement away from and toward the vehicle to locate said frame and mechanism in any one of a number of dierent operative positions spaced laterally from the vehicle and means for raising and lowering said mechanisms with respect to said frame, out of and into excavating position, said last mentioned means being operable to determine the effective depth of the excavation to be made.

12. In combination with a vehicle, a pair of horizontally swingable booms pivoted vat one end to the vehicle, a frame connecting the other end of said booms and coacting therewith to provide a parallelogram arrangement and which frame is movably laterally away from and toward the vehicle into and out of operative position in the swinging of said booms and an excavating mechanism of the endless conveyor type carried by said frame.

13. In combination with a vehicle, a pair of horizontal swingable booms pivoted at one end to the vehicle, a frame connecting the other end of said booms and coacting therewith to provide a parallelogram arrangement and which frame is movable laterally away from and toward the vehicle into and outy of operative position in the swinging of said booms, and excavating mechanism of the endless conveyor type pivoted at one end to said frame and means for raising and lowering the other end of said mechanism to determine the effective depth of the excavation to be made or to bring said mechanism into an inoperative position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 1st day of March, 1929.

HARRY W. PROTZELLER. 

